The Monday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories
Highlights from the news file for Monday, March 20
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FBI INVESTIGATING RUSSIAN TIES TO TRUMP TEAM: A political bombshell landed Monday in Washington as law enforcement confirmed an ongoing investigation into contacts between associates of President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government last year and into whether crimes were committed. FBI director James Comey informed a congressional committee that he had received permission from the Justice Department to finally make the revelation public after months of rumours swirling around the capital. Late last July, Comey said, the agency began investigating contacts between Trump’s associates and the Russian government, which is believed to have stolen Democratic party emails and leaked them through intermediaries Wikileaks and Guccifer. Comey resisted being pressed on what Russia would have gained from such an arrangement. He also tiptoed around questions about ties between Russian officials and Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and their common friend Roger Stone. But he did say that Russian President Vladimir Putin harboured a personal hatred of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. He also agreed when asked whether there were some affinities with Trump’s campaign on issues like the breakup of the European Union.
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